Stefon Harris performs with Western Jazz Quartet

March 7, 2006

KALAMAZOO--Composer, marimbist and vibraphonist Stefon Harris
is conducting a week-long residency in Kalamazoo that includes
a performance with the Western Jazz Quartet at 8 p.m. Friday,
March 10, in the Dalton Center Recital Hall at Western Michigan
University.

General admission tickets for Friday's concert are $25. Students
with ID will be admitted for $5. Tickets may be purchased at
the door and are available in advance through the Miller Auditorium
and Epic Center box offices.

Other activities during Harris' visit to Kalamazoo include
masterclasses, lecture-demonstrations, visits to local area schools,
a performance at the Union Cabaret and Grill and a guest performance
with the Western Jazz Orchestra at the 26th annual Western Invitational
Jazz Festival Saturday, March 11. Harris' appearances at WMU
and Kalamazoo residency is sponsored by Fontana Chamber Arts.

Stefon Harris is heralded by the Los Angeles Times
as "one of the most important young artists in jazz."
A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, he received a Bachelor
of Arts degree in classical music and a Master of Arts in jazz
performance. Stefon is a recipient of the prestigious Martin
E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and has earned three Grammy
nominations for Best Jazz Album including "The Grand Unification
Theory" (2003), the 2001 release of "Kindred,"
and his 1999 release of "Black Action Figure" for Best
Jazz Instrumental Solo.

North Sea Jazz of the Netherlands named Harris for the prestigious
International 2002 Bird Award for Artist Deserving Wider Recognition.
He has been voted Best Mallet Player by the Jazz Journalist Association
(2000-2004), Debut Artist of the Year by Jazztimes, Downbeat's
Critics Poll Winner for Vibraphone and Rising Star-Vibraphone
(2003), Newsweek's Best Jazz CD, Best New Talent and 1999-2000
Readers Poll Best Vibraphonist by Jazzis Magazine, and Chicago
Tribune's Debut of the Year.